A Tayside drug dealer was caught with cannabis and £10,000 in cash after police saw him littering.
Officers stumbled on the drugs racket after Jamie Laws threw a soft drinks bottle from a car window and they stopped and searched the vehicle.
Laws, 21, of Erskine Road, Tayport, was told only his youth had saved him from a lengthy prison sentence as he was handed a community payback order at Airdrie Sheriff Court.
He admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis on the M80 near Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, and at his home.
Chucked bottle for cannabis car
The court heard Laws was a passenger in a car travelling north on the motorway on August 24 2021.
He threw the bottle out of the window, not realising an unmarked police car was directly behind.
Officers said they had to swerve to avoid it hitting their vehicle.
Searches of the car and then his home led to cannabis worth just under £10,000 being seized.
Police also recovered £10,045 in cash from his home.
Defence agent Luke O’Curry said his client accepted he was in a serious situation but asked the court to take into account his age – he was only 19 at the time of the offence.
Mr O’Curry added: “He has tendered a guilty plea and avoided the need for a trial.”
Avoided prison – just
Sheriff Paul Haran ordered Laws to carry out 300 hours of unpaid community work as a direct alternative to custody.
The sheriff told him: “Guidelines clearly put you in the realms of a significant custodial sentence.
“But mitigating factors, particularly your age, persuade me – just – that there is a direct alternative.
“Be aware that any further offending of this sort will no doubt result in a significant custodial sentence.
“In this case, had you been a little bit older, you would probably have been looking at upwards of two years in prison.
“Get your head down, get on with your unpaid work and, hopefully, you will avoid finding yourself back in court in future.”
The sheriff ordered confiscation of the cash.
An allegation Laws acted in a culpable and reckless manner by throwing the bottle out of the car was dropped.
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